D.—l.

4

Enclosure in No. 11. The Rev. J. Berry to the Hon. the Premier. Sir,-— Wellington, 20th December, 1879. I beg most respectfully, on my return from Great Britain, to submit the following brief report upon my work here on behalf of the Government of New Zealand : — My agreement with tho Government was to devote six months to lecturing in Great Britain, for which I was to receive the sum of £300, paying my own expenses to and from England, and all travelling and hotel expenses during the six months in question. This I did; beginning on Ist January of this year, and ending on 30th June. After this, by arrangement with the Agent-General, I continued for three months longer, for which I received the sum of £210. The larger sum of £70 per month was paid me in consideration of the longer journeys and incessant travelling required to spread the desired information to fill the three special farmers' ships. In all, I delivered about one hundred and twenty lectures, travelling in many parts of England and through Scotland for the purpose. About sixty of these lectures were delivered in the County of Lincolnshire. My plan was to lecture iv the principal market towns, such as Lincoln, Louth, Boston, Spalding, &c., in the afternoon at the Corn Exchange or Town Hall, on which occasion I addressed farmers only. During the other evenings of the w-eck I lectured in the principal agricultural villages. Chapels and schoolrooms were freely placed at my disposal, as a Christian minister, and I was -a welcome guest at the homes of leading farmers. One direct result of this is the requisition signed by 500 farmers to Messrs. Grant aud Foster. Many of the signatures are those of gentlemen personally known to me, and represent some of the best families in the county, while others arc men of less means, but all arc men of some capital. I also lectured in many towns and cities, such as Liverpool, Leicester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow, &c. My object in doing this was to turn in this direction some of the capital that in all British centres of industry lies idle. 1 took care, also, to be reported by the newspapers, and thus to reach the agricultural districts around. My audiences in such places generally ranged from five to fifteen hundred, and it was no uncommon thing for the largest buildings I could secure to be packed to the doors. In Birmingham, for instance, I found many coal- and iron-masters most eager to ascertain what scope New Zealand offered for their capital, and their sons. There is a magnificent and almost unlimited opening in Great Britain at the present for this kind of work, for men who can command audiences and carry weight. I also wrote a series of articles on New Zealand for the Christian World newspaper, which has an enormous circulation in every quarter of the globe. These articles were collected in pamphlet form, and 10,000 were sold in three mouths. In this way I soon aroused so much attention and inquiry that my correspondence for some months averaged from three to five hundred letters per week. This, with the lecturing, kept me employed almost incessantly day and night, and I had frequently to hire clerks to write at dictation. When I made the original agreement with the Government I never contemplated doing so much work as this. Moreover at the time I was iv feeble health, and hardly hoped to be so much invigorated by the sea voyage as I found myself. When, however, I saw that the work was to be done, I flung myself heartily into it. May I, therefore, respectfully ask your kind consideration of my case as to remuneration. The nine months' work referred to above has occupied eighteen months iv travelling and preparation, and the £510 paid to me does little more than cover the cost of passage for my family to England and back, and of travelling while there, and leaves me, of course, some hundreds of pounds short of my barest expenses for self and family. I beg, therefore, to ask that, in addition to the sum already paid me, the Government pay me a further sum, sufficient to cover the passage out and Home of myself and family (six young children, with wife, and servant), which has cost about £400. I may add that I have brought out Messrs. Grant and Foster, securing their passage-money from the Agent-General, but paying my own; also, that I am now engaged upon a second series of articles for the Christian World, with the special object of pointing out the field which New Zealand offers to capitalists. I mentioned to the Agent-General my desire for further remuneration, but his answer was that, as my original agreement was made with the Government here, he was unable to go beyond his instructions, but that, if I applied through him, he would be happy to forward the application with his recommendation. I decided, however, to let my work speak for itself, and to address the Government myself upon my return. Trusting to receive your kind and early consideration, I have, &c., The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Joseph Berry.

No. 12. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General, Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 3rd January, 1880. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 925, of the 3rd November last, covering copies of telegrams between yourself and the Government iv October